S&P rallies to record as first half winds down
Exterior view of the New York Stock Exchange and Wall St. as new company Organon start trading next thursday in New York on June 02 2021. Organon look to expand to provide treatments for other conditions unique to women, about 80% of the new company'
The S&P 500 booked its fifth straight record high on Wednesday as the first half of the year came to a close.
The benchmark index climbed 0.13% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 210 points, or 0.61%. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, slipped 0.17%, ending just off its own record peak. The S&P has gained 14% so far this year as both the Dow and the Nasdaq have advanced 13%.
The benchmark index climbed 0.13% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 210 points, or 0.61%. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, slipped 0.17%, ending just off its own record peak. The S&P has gained 14% so far this year as both the Dow and the Nasdaq have advanced 13%.
In stocks, Big Tech shares, including Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc., were in focus after The Wall Street Journal reported the Biden administration is drafting an executive order that would direct federal regulators to more closely examine industries that are controlled by a small number of companies.
Elsewhere, Walmart gained nearly 3% as the Dow's top performer.
In earnings, General Mills Inc. reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates but warned that organic net sales would decline as much as 3% in the current fiscal year as at-home food demand declines across most of its core markets.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. raised its 2021 sales forecast amid signs that its turnaround strategies are taking hold. The company's quarterly revenue outpaced expectations, but its profit fell short.
Database software developer MongoDB Inc. priced a 2.5 million offering of new common shares. The sale, which raised about $889 million, was done at a price of $365 per share, a 4.9% discount to where shares closed Tuesday.
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc. opened for trading at $16.65 a share after pricing at $14, the high end of its range, on Tuesday evening. Shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DIDI.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 49 cents to $73.47 a barrel and gold edged up $8 to $1,770.90 an ounce, but was unable to avoid its steepest monthly decline, -6.92%, since November 2016.
Overseas markets were mostly lower.
European bourses were weaker across the board, with Germany’s DAX 30 declining 1.02%, France’s CAC 40 sliding 0.91% and Britain’s FTSE 100 down 0.71%.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite rallied 0.5% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.57% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.07%.